Android is installed on more mobile devices than any other platform, so the best-selling handsets that run on Google’s OS tend to have a big influence on the rest of the smartphone market.

Here is a quick rundown of the most popular Android phones of the year, ranging from high-powered flagships to entry-level alternatives.

Samsung Galaxy S7

It may have been introduced all the way back in 2016, but the Galaxy S7 remains the most widely-used Android device of them all, accounting for 4.66 per cent of all web traffic generated by mobile devices in the first half of the year.

The sales success of the S7 since its launch, along with its durable design that includes water and dust-resistant properties, helped it to hang onto its lead in the popularity stakes. Unfortunately it looks set to be overtaken in the near future as owners embrace the opportunity to upgrade when their contracts expire.

Samsung Galaxy S8

Samsung continues its dominance of both handset sales and mobile web traffic, with the newer S8 sitting pretty in second place.

Its edge-to-edge display makes it great for browsing modern sites, playing popular Android casino apps and enjoying media playback. Meanwhile the more powerful Exynos chipset that hums away happily beneath the surface makes short work of a range of tasks, from capturing smooth 4K video to powering the latest VR and AR experiences.

Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge

With a 5.5 inch display that spilled over either side, the S7 Edge was an indicator of how the future of the Galaxy range would play out in terms of its design. So many people snapped one up at the time that it is still the UK’s third most widely used Android device, sitting just shy of the S8 with its 4.22 per cent stake in the web traffic table.

Built for Android 6.0, this handset has been updated by Samsung to operate effectively with subsequent updates, while the slick Samsung Experience interface remains a consistent and engaging way to interact with the handset’s various features and apps.

The fact that it managed to maintain its momentum in spite of the scandal surrounding the Galaxy Note 7 is a testament to the quality of the S7 Edge.

Samsung Galaxy S6

Having originally arrived in 2015, the Galaxy S6 has done remarkably well to hold on to fourth place in the Android handset popularity race in 2018, when judged solely according to how many people are still using the handset to access the internet.

It may be a little long in the tooth by the standards of the fast-paced mobile market, but its specs still stack up well compared with its successors. It has 3GB of RAM and an octa-core chipset, giving it more than enough power to keep things running smoothly.

A few key features, such as 4K video capture, are missing from this older model. It also lacks the durable design of its successors, but has retained a strong following in spite of this.

Samsung Galaxy A3

The Galaxy A3 range has been updated regularly over the years, meaning that there are a number of different variations still in use today which help this mid-range model maintain a hold on the market today.

The latest hardware revision arrived in 2017, bringing with it a new water-resistant chassis, a tougher glass-coated AMOLED display measuring 4.7 inches across the diagonal and the fairly speedy Exynos 7 chipset.

At the moment the A3 runs on Android 8.0, overlaid with version 9.0 of the Samsung Experience interface.

Samsung Galaxy J3 Duos

With a small but significant 1.8 per cent slice of the mobile network traffic to its name, the Galaxy J3 Duos is yet another solid budget smartphone from industry stalwart Samsung.

It has a five inch display, a modest 8GB slice of onboard storage space and a pair of SIM card slots, making it convenient for business users and those who make regular calls overseas.

Unlike its range-topping counterparts, there’s nothing remarkable about the design of the J3 Duos, but it has clearly found favour amongst UK buyers as it still rides high in the usage charts in 2018.

 

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